Interacting with children is undoubtedly one of the greatest experiences ever. Some may say that kids, today, are not so innocent. With the help of technology, kids seem to grow up too soon. But after my third school visit as part of TidyCity school awareness programmes, I have felt no such doubt. Kids are always kids.

When I say they are innocent, don’t get an impression that they are all good little angels, polite and obedient. Oh no. Some are naughty, some are more naughty, some are extremely and gigantically naughty! Ages 10 to 12. A time when one can afford to be as carefree as possible. A time to jump up and down at all times, a time to ask any silly or embarrassing question anyplace. Cause if you don’t ask then, how do you know the answers?

Our first school programme was in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, in Feb this year. Oh boy, that was the first rude shocker! We had no more wrong ideas about 11-year-olds! They are a notorious lot I tell you. But I am of the opinion, it shows more than anything else, their innocence. They want to be wild, they go wild. Nothing to stop them. No reason to impress anyone by observing a certain code of conduct society seems to have imposed on every adult. No; you can run around, you can make a lot of noise, you can do all sorts of things. And that is exactly why TidyCity wants to reach out to them at this stage. Because in between all the wild merry, they actually pick up things around them. They learn. So if we show them the right ways to treat the place we live in, they pick that up too. They may have questions for you – some of which may bring your eyes out of your sockets – but still, they learn.

The second programme was at St. Shanthal, in July. We talked to classes 5, 6 and 7. Class 6, we decided, was more notorious. 11 is a great age. It is the last stage of childhood for many. The times when boys and girls still repel each other, when something as small as a candy could brighten up your world. When we talked to them, they responded. Difficult to keep young little things in attention, but they seemed to follow our language. They seemed to understand. Well, it could be to get more chocolates that they readily agreed with everything we told them. But a response is always a positive sign. Much better than all that neglect from grown-ups, to the world around us.

Third programme was on August 5, at Christ Nagar. When each of the students was too eager to answer our quiz questions, we know it is pure childish delight in being able to prove they know a bit about the world, in front of their classmates and friends. We know it could be to win a gift for getting the correct answer. But so what? An older person may want to do the same, but sit quietly to meet the so-called standards of accepted behaviours and (ahem) maturity. Younger ones have no such qualms. The bigger joy was in the end, when they sincerely framed their own messages to tell their friends and others, about what one should and should not do to keep their surroundings clean. Let’s hope this generation would grow up to be much more responsible young adults than their previous generations.

Kudos to kids!

After the success of the first school programme, we hope that the second will prove just as fruitful.

In addition to the sessions, TidyCity is also having a poster competition with topics related to the cause. We hope it would make the children reflect on the real-life situation as far as waste management is concerned, and inspire in them a desire to make a difference.

TidyCity on 20th Feb 2010, conducted an awareness programme at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School in Trivandrum. This is TidyCity’s first school visit.

Sessions were taken for students of class 6, with the help of presentations, videos and interactive activities.

The event was a big mark for TidyCity and we hope to visit more schools in the coming months.